When a mysterious wizard arrives at his door, Bilbo Baggins
is uprooted from his snug Hobbit hole and thrown into an adventure of a
lifetime. Flanked by 13 dwarves, the company embark upon a quest to regain
their homeland from the dragon Smaug, all the while an ominous presence is
starting to rear its head in Middle Earth.

The film opens in the sunnier days of the Shire we know and
love. 48 frames per second bring an incredible amount of detail to an already
rich scene from the offset; you can make out every leaf with dizzying clarity.
It has to be said, as the film progresses there are more and more gratuitous 3D
moments that really are pointless if you are watching it 2D or (in future) on
DVD. However, The Hobbit is perhaps more beautiful and sharp than its predecessors,
the scenes in Rivendell are breathtaking.

There is a certain amount of nostalgia in The Hobbit which
is natural; old faces such as Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett and even the
protuberant blue eyes of Elijah Wood earmark The Hobbit as a definite prequel.
But in the mean time there is plenty of fresh meat which provides The Hobbit
with ample character in its own right. Martin Freeman could not be more perfect
as a young Bilbo. Kind natured, brave hearted and plucky, he is a joy to watch.

In some respects it is nice that The Hobbit is set to become
another great trilogy but part of me questions why this short book needs to be drawn out over three films.
Obviously it is a great money spinning deal, however time will tell if the
story has been drawn and padded out in a way which is unsatisfactory. You could
probably read Tolkien’s The Hobbit in less time than it will take to watch the
3 films. But then again, while The Hobbit is a prequel to The Lord of The
Rings, it is significantly different in tone and style. Something which Jackson
has noted and ran with. One of the finest scenes of the movie is the exchange
between Sméagol/Gollum and Bilbo when the one ring is thrown into the mix.
Jackson manages to capture a balance between quirky humour and genuine danger;
it’s what makes The Hobbit so perfect for a family audience. The sophisticated,
epic nature of Lord of The Rings may be missing, but The Hobbit more than makes
up for this in other areas.

There are some moments that seem to have little to do with
the main plot (such as a sledge ride through a forest with a brown Wizard) but
for the most part The Hobbit is a thrilling cat and mouse chase with a heart warming
climax. Freeman’s Bilbo shows a remarkable amount of growth and has already soared
through one great character arc. Considering this is the first in a trilogy,
there is enough brilliance here to make us genuinely excited for The Desolation
of Smaug. To all cinemas goers; it’s good to be back in Middle Earth…

Prada have revealed an all star cast modelling their S/S 2013 line. Scroll down for pictures of Aaron Johnson, Dane DeHaan, Harvey Keitel and Benicio De Torro looking dapper in these black and white portraits...

When Thomas’ parents leave town for their anniversary
weekend, his best friend decides to throw him a Birthday party in the house.
Welcome to the age of smart phones and internet! What was supposed to me a
small high school party quickly spirals out of control into absolute carnage.
You know the party scenes in movies that last a couple of minutes and that’s
it? Well Project X is what it would be like if it was extended for an hour:
madness.

Don’t think for a second that this is going to be anything
other than wild, untamed and vacuous partying; because that’s precisely what it
is. It’s unapologetic in its approach. Filmed in the hand held style, Project X
threatens to undo some of the hard work Chronicle did with that genre. It’s
unfair to utter these films in the same breath however they do share some
similarities. Where Chronicle succeeds and Project X falls short is that the
dialogue matches up with the filming style, as the lines in Chronicle
encapsulate a natural teen dialect. Project X on the other hand uses that home
movie style, but the script hasn’t adapted to it, and the dialogue is not
believably natural.

With that said, anyone who tries to review this film in the
same way you would a film like Chronicle is already onto a loser. This is because
Project X is essentially one massive music video of the party you always wished
you could have. It’s obvious that the demographic is teenage girls and boys who
will resonate with the sheer brat-like nature of the boys. I read a review of
how Project X lacked the heart and wider message of Superbad, I’m not trying to
say for a second that real people lack heart, but they’re not the caricatures depicted
in Superbad, and I can very much believe that boys would throw a party
motivated by popularity and getting laid. But in some respects the film does
shy away, it could go a lot further
at times, and it doesn’t which is a shame.

This film is not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but a
lot of people find it entertaining, funny and enjoyed it; why should that be
frowned upon? Let’s face it, the film is an 18, but the kids watching it will
be younger than that and will think it’s cool. To call it the worst film of
recent years is horrendously extreme. Make no mistake, this film is for the
kids, you need a sense of humour; no ones trying to say this will happen at the
house next door.

The soundtrack of this film is immense; if you want a party
playlist, buy the OST. This won’t be the last we see of Thomas Mann; and quite
frankly that’s not a bad thing.

Awards season is officially beginning (eeeeeeek!) and here are the film nominations for The Golden Globes. The TV nominations have been left out of this particular post but let's face it, most of us are only interested in the films (or at least, I am).

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Argo

Lincoln

Life of Pi

Django Unchained

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Les Miserables

Moonrise Kingdom

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Richard Gere, Arbitrage

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson

Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Maggie Smith, Quartet

Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonard DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Screenplay

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

David O. Russell, Silver Livings Playbook

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Chris Terrio, Argo

Best Original Score

Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

Alexandre Desplat, Argo

Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina

Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, Cloud Atlas

John Williams, Lincoln

Best Original Song

For You (music and lyrics by Keith Urban)

Act of Valor; Not Running Anymore (music and lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi), Stand Up Guys

Just a few shots of the stars from the Les Mis New York premiere, although somehow a few pictures from the world premiere have ended up here too. Not sure about Hathaway's Tom Ford boots - however Redmayne's Burberry suit is the stuff of dreams...

Slightly random post for today, but felt inspired to share this beautiful advert with you for two reasons. Firstly, the music is Sunshine (Adagio In D Minor)by John Murphy which feautured in our favourite soundtrack post from a while back. A beautiful peice of music from the Danny Boyle film, Sunshine. Secondly, the advert stars Charlize Theron. Enough said.